The present invention relates to containers for dispensing foodstuff, medications and the like and more particularly to a compartmentalized container having sealed therein a prefilled quantity of product to be dispensed.
There are available today numerous types of dispensing containers which are adapted in one way or another to house a prefilled dosage of product. One family of containers of this type employ container inserts which are filled and sealed with a product at one site and then inserted into a container specially designed to receive the insert. One disadvantage of this type of container is that separate manufacturing steps are involved in filling and sealing the capsular insert and thereafter inserting and securing the capsule to a container. It is also necessary to transport the container shells and the filled container capsules to a common site for assembly and in view of the relatively fragile nature of these items, considerable care and expense is required in order to prevent breakage. Another drawback is that when containers of this type are used in vending machines, it is necessary to compactly stack the containers and the container inserts tend to increase the overall container size thereby making them unsuitable for use in vending machines.
Another family of containers of this type comprise generally unitary containers which are sub-divided into compartments, one of which houses the dose of product and the other of which is provided to receive a liquid for mixing with the product. The major drawback of this type container is that relatively intricate devices have been employed to break the seal between the two compartments in order to effect mixing of the liquid and product thereby making these containers expensive. The particular devices employed are awkward and cumbersome to use and often times render the container unsuitable for use for many purposes. Moreover, if the containers are to be suitable for use in vending machines, the devices must be designed so as to enable compact container stacking without damaging the devices or the containers. Difficulties have also been encountered in effecting a liquid-tight seal between the two compartments so as to avoid contamination of the product yet permit rupture of the seal to enable liquid-product mixing.